DESERT THIEF: Book 1: Dovahkiin
by UruExplorer DTC
Summary: As everything went up in flames, all she could think was: "There's no way this guy's the savior of the world." But he was, and she knew it. Well- if fate was going to keep forcing them to work together, there wasn't anything she could do to stop it.
1. Prologue: Helgen

**A.N.: GREETINGS! DTC here! First off, before you begin reading this, I've got to say this flat out: This story is based off of a heavily modded Skyrim game! The full List of mods can be found on the website this story began on, "****_Entering Skyrim_****"(Search for "CalSkyrimJournal Entering Skyrim"), but main among them is the "TROPICAL SKYRIM" Mod that turns Skyrim into a Tropical Region! With that out of the way- for the readers following me for other stories, be warned that this *IS* Skyrim, and is rated M for a reason! If that doesn't sit well with you, you'd best back on out of here! .u. **

**Now then... ON WITH THE STORY!**

* * *

Your name is MIERFA DURGAS, and you are a SNEAK. You often find yourself in ODD SITUATIONS that you proudly worm your way out of with CHARM AND SKILL. And also a startling lack of armor half the time. That's fine though- the TROPICAL REGION of SKYRIM is a bit too toasty for your liking. You are pretty much THE EXPERT on archery, or so you like to think.

If only that skill hadn't earned you a bad reputation in the local town of RIVERWOOD.

Whoops.

* * *

**_PROLOGUE_**

* * *

The small, blue skinned, Drow-girl yelped as she dove out of the immediate line of sight of the irate villagers, narrowly dodging an arrow to the ear. Mierfa Durgas- a self proclaimed SNEAK and Archery dabbler- had just made a few enemies by proudly trying to show off her bow skills.

She shot three chickens in one shot- completely by accident.

They all exploded.

Whoops.

The girl narrowed her blue eyes as she dove into the thick, jungle scenery, and began her attempt at getting away from those angry villagers. Mierfa Made a mental note as she skipped past a few large trees- "Avoid Riverwood." Simple as that. Of course, she knew things wouldn't be nearly that easy.

Helgen was just a bit to the south from here, if she could make it there, then maybe…Maybe things would go alright.

She wasn't quite sure how she managed to slip away, even as the trees and bugs managed to fade away. The villager's shouts managed to disperse into the jungle. Oh well- she wasn't going to count her blessings as she slipped past the three Guardian stones- casually toggling to the Mage stone from Thief as she went past- and up the road.

It wasn't too far to Helgen, but if she could make it there… If she could just make it…

* * *

It was night time by the point she got to Helgen. It seemed the local guards weren't interested in her 100-some Septim bounty for Chicken Slaughter, and so she managed to spend what little coinage (only 20 Septims) she had on food and a room at the local inn.

Mierfa sighed again, it looked like she'd have to do odd jobs around town for the next few days before she could rebuild enough cash-reserves to even be able to leave town peaceably.

Sadly, those plans didn't come to fruition easily.

The very next morning- General Tullius and his Imperial Convoy rolled into town- two carts full of Stormcloak soldiers and their leader- Ulfric.

She stood there in horror as she watched them line up the prisoners to the chopping block. The first man died with 'his ancestors smiling upon him', asking if the Imperials could say the same.

Up next was a man she recognized from Riverwood- someone called Ralof. He hadn't been in town during the… Incident, so this explained that. He'd been captured.

She was about to look away when suddenly…

A dragon roared- and begun its attack.

* * *

Your name is Mierfa Durgas, and you suddenly think that COMING TO HELGEN was a VERY BAD IDEA.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE: HELGEN.**

* * *

The Black winged beast roared- and meteors fell from the sky, crashing into the trees and buildings with no regard for safety.

Mierfa was at a loss as she quickly dove into the Inn to avoid being squashed by a massive rock. A Dragon! A real, live, breathing Dragon! Attacking Helgen! '_My luck sucks_', she thought with a grimace. First Riverwood- now Helgen? Things just seemed to keep exploding! There was a near miss by a boulder that tore a hole open in the roof and then continued on through a near-by wall- and she realized that this building wouldn't be safe for very long.

With a quick check to make sure she still had her bow (though she seemed to be low on arrows), Mierfa prepared to make a break for it through that recently made hole. _'It's now or never!"_ she took in a deep breath, and then ran through the opening.

Half a Minute later- a Breton boy who had been on the prisoner convoy jumped down through that opening in the rooftop, unintentionally following Mierfa through a common path.

* * *

She'd barely managed to duck into an alley between two houses when the dragon landed in the street and breathed a rolling wave of fire across the street. Over the roar of the dragon's shout (which, Mierfa noticed offhandedly, sounded a lot like **"YOL!"**), she heard one of the Imperial guards she'd just ran past talking to a surviving villager or two.

"I'm going to help General Tullius and Join the defense!"

She saw him heading her way just after the Dragon took to the sky again.

Mierfa ran.

She ducked into the remains of a nearby house just in time to narrowly dodge another Fire Blast from the Dragon. This time she was close enough to _feel _the Shockwave from the shout (Definitely "YOL!" it was yelling, How odd!) as well as the heat from it.

Thankfully, it passed after another moment as the Dragon took to the sky yet again.

As she ran out into the street- keeping small as to avoid making herself a target- the Imperial Soldier Hadavar and the Breton boy followed the same path.

Mierfa didn't see them, and they didn't see her.

She ran past Imperials who were shooting up at the Dragon with fire balls and arrows, and then, finally, found her way into the Keep- running inside just in time to miss hearing Hadavar and Ralof begin arguing about which one of them the younger boy should follow.

* * *

There was a dead Stormcloak on the ground- a decent sized gash on his neck, and the obvious cause of death. Mierfa frowned, hesitant to loot the body, but she had a feeling she'd need the arrow holder on his back. Of course, as she turned the man over, she quickly realized that the holder was empty- not a single arrow inside at all.

"Grrr…" She growled even as the dragon's roar echoed in from outside. "Of all the…"

**SLAM.**

Mierfa turned her head over her shoulder as the door she'd just come in through slammed shut.

"Well, no going back that way!" Came the voice of that Riverwood native Ralof as he huffed a joke at his companion, "That tree was just about to squash us flat instead of the door!"

"Ya think!?" The boy, a Breton by the looks of his hair, snapped at the Nord.

It was then that both of them realized that Mierfa was even in the room with them.

"Mierfa? What are you doing here?" She cursed her luck- of course Ralof would have recognized her.

"Came up for supplies," she lied, rather expertly avoiding the fact that she'd shot three exploding chickens (By accident!), "got attacked by a dragon. You?"

"Got ambushed up by Dark Waters Crossing," Ralof replied as he relaxed away from the door, "Like they knew exactly where we'd be."

"That's kind of the definition of the word '_ambush_', you know?" She smirked at the older man, before turning her eyes to the kid. "So who's he?"

"Just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Ralof said for the boy, "got caught up in the ambush when he was crossing the border."

Mierfa raised an eyebrow at the response, "Huh," she looked down at the kids hands, still bound up, "and you haven't cut his hands loose yet?"

"Haven't had time yet," Ralof said as he came over to the table where the Stormcloak soldier had died, "That was a dragon, the harbinger of the end times! We're lucky to still be alive." he frowned upon seeing the man's face. "Oh Gunjir…"

"Yeah, that's true," Mierfa kept her eyes on the boy warily. Despite that first remark, he'd kept silent for the most part since entering the Keep. Then she noticed he was looking at her, "What? Raptor got your tongue or something?"

He jumped slightly, "Erm…"

"May we meet again in Sovrengard, friend," Ralof muttered as he stood up from examining the Stormcloak, the man's dagger now freed from its sheath. "Come here," he said to the boy. "Let me get those bindings off of you."

"Sure-" The boy held his hands out, and with a practiced motion (though where he picked it up from Mierfa didn't want to know), Ralof cut the ropes around the kid's wrists. "Ah, that's better!"

"You'd better take Gunjir's gear, I don't think he'll be needing it. And give that ax a few swings while you're at it," Ralof seemed sad, but determined to move on. "Mierfa, check one of those gates, see if you can get it open. I'll check the other one."

"Sure," with a nod, she wandered over to the metal prison gate that had a lock on it, and only a lock. No handle at all. Yet again, she cursed her luck- it was one of those high end locks that could only be opened with a very complicated key. Her pitiful collection of lock picks (quite a few had snapped in their pouch during the escape from Riverwo– The Dragon) wouldn't be able to open the thing. "It's locked," She reported.

"Same here-" Ralof replied from a spike gate that was blocking the other pathway. "Damn, the lever's on the other side."

Mierfa turned around and leaned against the gate, and it was then that she saw the boy in Stormcloak armor.

She couldn't help it.

She laughed.

"Heh," even Ralof chuckled a bit, "looks like it's a bit big on you, friend."

"What ever," the Breton crossed his arms and scowled. "So how are we getting out of here?"

"I could try breaking the lock with an arrow," Mierfa offered, "But I doubt it'd work."

"Maybe we could–" Ralof was about to suggest something when a commotion came from the other side of the spike-gate. "Imperials!" he whispered suddenly as he drew his ax and crouched out of site behind a pillar- "Quick! Take cover!"

The boy in oversized armor ducked under the table, and Mierfa crouched down behind a chair, pulling out her bow and reading an arrow in preparation. _'You never know with these imperials,'_ was her justification.

One of the two Imperial soldiers pulled a lever on the other side of the spike gate and it began to lower- giving her the perfect line of sight towards the other soldier- a woman with a rather rude smile on her face.

_**SHWIK!**_

The first arrow flew straight and true– that rude smile was wiped off of the woman's face with an arrow to the nose.

She fell- and before the man accompanying her could react- Ralof fell upon him and delivered a crushing blow to the man's helmeted head.

Mierfa wasn't sure if the resounding 'crack' was from the man's skull, or the metal in his hide helmet.

She preferred to think it was the latter.

* * *

As they searched the two imperials for anything of use they might have had (The woman with the rude smile had the key for the metal gate that was blocking their path)- the Breton boy traded out the rather large Stormcloak armor for the smaller, more fitting armor that the other Imperial had been wearing. He also took their swords over the ax, although he kept it on hand just in case he needed it.

Mierfa still hadn't caught his name, and she honestly didn't quite care to know it either. _'The sooner I get out of this dump the better',_ she thought as she descended the stairwell behind the gate- moving deeper into the Keep and deeper underground- further and further away from the Dra-

**_RUMBLE_****-CLAM!**

**-**gon.

"Damn," Ralof remarked as they looked at the collapsed hallway before them, "that dragon doesn't give up easy does it?"

"No it does not," Mierfa frowned as she heard it's roar echo through the non-visible hole in the roof. "Can we keep moving?"

Though they had to take a detour to keep moving along- they did eventually manage to get to the other side of the collapsed hallway- and found an Imperial torture chamber- with the torturers still inside, fighting Stormcloaks who hopefully hadn't been torture-es. Mierfa gawked at it. How long had this been there? And to think she'd been planning on living in Helgen for some time to come!

Scratch that plan- and not just because of the Dragon.

They'd managed to take care of the Imperials easily enough- the Breton boy seemed to be quite handy with dual-wielding those stolen Imperial swords- and after that, Mierfa restocked on lock picks and began attempting to pick open a cage that held a dead Mage inside- along side a rather hefty looking coin purse.

She got it open easily- much to the Breton Boy's surprise- and searched the Mage for whatever could be of use.

A set of robes that seemed to be of an adjustable nature, as well as a Sparks Spell tome. The Coin Purse had about 70 Septims inside, and, upon inquiring who needed the extra coin and who didn't, she split it between her and the Breton Boy, who was just about as broke as she was.

"I already know Sparks," Mierfa said as she threw the Sparks tome at the boy, "Catch!"

He caught it with his shoulder, "Ow!" he sent a rather annoyed look at Mierfa as she took the mage's robes for her own.

Ralof chuckled at that- and she didn't care to figure out why.

* * *

She restocked on arrows in the next room- now at a healthy supply of 40- thanks to some stupid Imperials who thought the best way of killing a target was to shoot them in the knee.

She set them straight on that matter with a few precise arrows to the throats.

The boy seemed slightly wary of her archery skills, but made no comments on it, instead getting used to the sparks spell by zapping any Imperials they came across.

Ralof and his Stormcloak friends split away from them at this point, hoping to hold the way for any other survivors that made their way through the keep, though he left them with the strict instructions to visit his Sister, Gurder, in Riverwood and let her know he was alright if they managed to get out of there.

Mierfa dodged accepting that 'quest' thanks to the boy agreeing to do it personally.

_'No Riverwood for this girl,'_ she thought with a roll of her eyes.

"So," the Breton started as they moved down into the caves beneath the Keep, "where'd you learn to use a bow like that?"

"Hunting," she said simply.

"Huh."

It was an attempt at casual conversation- she could tell. And Mierfa wasn't going to let him get away with it. Every question he threw at her, she brushed off with simple, one word answers.

As soon as she got out of here- she was heading west towards Falkwreath. Probably, she'd swim there. After this kind of day she could use the relaxing warmth that the lakes and rivers provided almost constantly. Skyrim was a tropical, jungle region. There were massive trees everywhere that kept the heat in- and where there weren't, there was desert- or volcanic regions- or massive lakes that were heated by said volcanic regions. Originally, it was a nice change of pace from her home town- which had been massively cold and snowy year round, from what little she remembered of it now- but after a while, the warmth had grown on her.

Even if the bugs were overgrown.

There was a cavern of Jungle Spiders in the cave system- about five or six of them all together, and they were large, even by Jungle Spider standards. It took two arrows to take them down, normally. Sparks barely affected them, flames only made them mad-

What she really hated about them was their penchant for trying to strip their prey down to nothing before eating their food alive.

Mierfa supposed it made sense- cloth and armor and other such things weren't really digestible to a spider- especially at that size. So, like the intelligent creatures that these perverted spiders were, they tried to free any humanoid of cloth or armor before chowing down, much like humanoids did for crabs!

Ah- food cycles.

"I AM _**NOT**_ PART OF YOUR DAMNED FOOD CYCLE!" She yelled as she fought one of the last of the few spiders back with her bow. It managed to get the jump on her, and would have pinned her down if she hadn't had her bow out at the right angle.

Right now, the bow was jammed into the spiders mouth as it's venom glands dripped with acidic poison. She tried not to breathe it in, or let it touch her- but that didn't matter much. She'd dropped an arrow when it'd jumped at her, but if she could just reach it…!

With a smirk, she felt the feathered end of the arrow and after grasping it, instead of shooting it through the bow, jammed it into one of the Jungle Spider's many eyes with it.

The Jungle Spider reared back with a warbling cry–

**SHCIK!**

–And then took an arrow to the mouth from a quickly lined up shot.

* * *

That had been one of the last spiders, although her bow and current armor had suffered for that encounter. The bow would need repairing, but the leather armor was completely un-salvageable with several gaping holes on the front.

Thankfully, however, the mage's robes had been in her pack, and so remained undamaged during that attack, and she switched out before the Breton had even noticed anything had happened. (It helped that he was cutting out the spider's venom glands for alchemy purposes.)

Still, she scowled, it seemed that her luck hadn't improved much over the last two days. The last time she'd had a dry spell in luck, she'd ended up burning through ten different armor sets within a month. And she literally meant "burning," thanks to that Flame Atronarch that thought she was 'cute' and had followed her around like a lost puppy the whole time. She shuddered at the memory, and hoped that things wouldn't get that bad.

Thankfully- there wasn't anything else in the cave past that point, beyond a rather sleepy looking Panda Bear that they easily sneaked past. And once they got past that, the outside world was found again. Just in time to watch the dragon swoop across the sky, heading north over Bleak Falls Barrow.

And so the Book of Time opened on the story of the Last Dragonborn.


	2. Questing

**CHAPTER 2: QUESTING**

* * *

Your name is Mierfa Durgas and you just want to go swimming to clear your head.

–

Splitting off from the boy had been harder than she'd initially thought. First things first- he asked her which way Riverwood was, and when he wasn't happy with the vague "Down that way and to the right," he asked for her to take him there.

She declined, saying she had business in Solitude- which was a flat out lie. He thought she was lying, and she nearly shot him with an arrow out of frustration- the only thing that spared his life was the damage done to her bow by the Jungle Spider. Eventually, however, she managed to convince him with a simple line:

"I've got stuff to do out west- you've got stuff to do out east- it makes sense for us to split up!"

And with that, she jumped into the thick, tropical jungle on her left, and abandoned the boy to his own desires- though she swiped the Stormcloak's ax off of him when he wasn't looking.

_'A girl has to protect herself any way she can, after all,' _she thought with a smirk.

* * *

At this point, a swim was definitely what she needed. The sun was just high enough in the day that she wouldn't have to worry about anything short of another dragon interrupting her. And so it was with that thought in mind that she floated in the lake, lazily adjusting her course towards Falkreath every few minutes.

Dragons.

Dragons had returned to Skyrim.

The last time they'd been seen was over four eras ago- back when Skyrim was still a frozen wasteland and Tamirel seemed to have a decent biosphere. At least, that's what everyone else said. At some point in the Second Era, a Daedric Prince from Oblivion had tried to pull his realm out into the physical world- or maybe even the opposite- and only succeeded in throwing the entire world's ecosystem off balance.

Thus- Skyrim went from Frozen to Tropical- and the world adjusted in kind.

But that was long ago now- and things were sane now- or at least they had been before a DRAGON had come literally out of nowhere to kill them all!

Eventually- Mierfa drifted back to shore, somewhere near Falkreath, and began the long trek inland through a bug and animal infested jungle while she let the day's heat dry her off.

* * *

The sun's light soon became blocked out by the tree tops, and the thick condensation began pouring rain down upon her without a cloud in sight.

Mierfa scowled as she tightened the mage's hood over her head. Her luck indeed had not increased any since she left Helgen, and she doubted it would.

Thankfully, the roads were dotted with lanterns and road signs which made navigating the jungle easy once you actually FOUND a road. Unfortunately, those lanterns and road signs were few and far between, and Mierfa soon found herself off of the beaten path and lost in the jungle.

Mierfa could only guess that she was going in the right direction- she didn't have a compass, and her sole map had been chewed through by spider venom. Then there were the bandits- men and women who were just as lost as she was and thought nothing of trying to rob her blind.

Not that she had anything worth stealing.

The first group of cowards attacked her when she stumbled past their camp- she hadn't even known they were there until an arrow whizzed past her ears. Thankfully for her- these particular bandits had no archery skills whatsoever.

She caught the next arrow without even looking, and- in a display that must have heavily impressed those particular bandits- spun around with the arrow's momentum and flung it right back at the wanna-be-hunter who shot at her.

_SHUCK._

"GAAH!" A person stumbled forward as the arrow slammed into their knee, dropping their bow in shock.

Mierfa just held her hands out to the side and shouted, "I don't got time for this! Do you?"

When another bandit stepped out of the foliage with a two-handed ax in hand, she simply drew an arrow from her supply and free-threw it at him.

This time, with proper aim, it hit the man in his exposed chest, he stumbled backwards in surprise as he got a good look at the girl his group had tried to kill.

The simple fact was that Mierfa's archery skills were as impressive as they were because her father had trained her in dagger throwing, and an arrow was lighter, faster, and sometimes even deadlier than any dagger. It had taken a bit of time to shift those skills to archery- but it had been worth it. The Hand/Eye Coordination of aiming was about the same, and her arm muscles were already strong enough to throw a dagger quite a ways, so her arrows were often times sent flying faster than many others at her age.

All of that, combined with her race's relatively rare presence in Skyrim, had lead to her gaining a reputation among the local thieves and bandits- the "Blue Eyed Sniper" with a "Divine's reaction time."

"FALL BACK!" The man yelled, dropping his ax to go aid his shot friend, "We're Routed!"

Once those two, along with whatever other bandits might have been hiding in the foliage, were gone, Mierfa just shook her head and picked up the fallen weapons- trading out her damaged bow for the one the archer had dropped, and picking up the two handed ax as an upgrade from the little ax she'd stolen from the Breton.

And as Mierfa turned to continue on her path, she smirked slightly as she tested the string on her new bow- it let loose a soft 'twang' that resonated through the trees.

* * *

Mierfa found Falkreath a few minutes later- and once she found a room at the inn, she settled down into bed with plans of doing odd jobs around town to build up a cash reserve. As she closed her eyes, an odd thought flowed behind her eyelids…

"I wonder what that kid's doing right about now?"

–

You are now PINA AYANO, several hours in the past, and you are now THOROUGHLY CONFUSED by the rather moderately sized crater in the middle of the road that everyone is trying to walk around.

* * *

At the local trader shop, Ayano, as he preferred to go by, listened in as the shop owner and his sister argued about a stolen ornament.

Anything related to Dragons had to be a risky thing.

* * *

"Give me. The Golden. Claw!" Ayano snarled at the man entrapped in the spider web blocking his path, putting the two swords right up against the man's neck. "Give it to me right now- and you LIVE."

Arvil the Swift nodded in abstract horror, "Alright alright! It's in my back pouch! Just cut me down and I'll give it to you!" Tears started to brim at the corners of his eyes, "Just don't kill me, please!"

* * *

**_"FUS…RO DAH!"_** The Draugr Deathlord shouted at the boy, who simply grinned dangerously at the Draugr's ethereal magic soundwave rolled right over him with only a slight stagger.

"My turn!" The Breton took in a breath…and it was in that moment the Draugr knew fear for the first time in undeath.

"RRAAHHH!"

**SLICE! SLICE! ****_SLICE-_**_THUD._

* * *

"Oh thank you!" The Shop owner smiled, though slightly confused, "Funny…It's smaller than I remember…"

Ayano raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

–

Mierfa yawned. Oh well, she thought as she rolled over in the sheets, he was probably just wandering around like a blind idiot without a map. She probably was never going to run into him again.

* * *

The Next morning, she set out on a bounty assignment from Falkreath's Jarl. The journey through the forest was tough, long, and tiring- nothing at all suited for her current mage robes. So at the first chance she got before heading out- she purchased some light armor and some other things from the local smith.

As she walked through the forest, following her newly purchased map, she wondered how she could alter the robes out- they'd been designed for a adult male mage, not a female child Drow, so the proportions were off by a bit. With a sigh, she realized she'd probably have to take a few new smiting lessons if she were ever to do that.

The Bandit camp she had to raid- and kill the leader of- was quite not too far away from Falkreath- but by the time she got there, sniped them all before they knew what hit them, and returned to town to collect the bounty, it was already mid-afternoon.

The Jarl's steward was a kind woman, one who frankly seemed to know more about what her boss's job entailed than he did. The Jarl…

Mierfa liked him even less than she did the dragon that had raided Helgen. He was stuck up- selfish- and completely annoying. His "task" to ask him for any higher up jobs was- simply put- to go fetch him a bottle of Black Briar Mead from Riften. RIFTEN!

She decided that enough was enough at this point- she exited the town, and hired a carriage to Markarth.

* * *

Mierfa soon wished that she hadn't come to Markarth when she did. A Forsworn agent had just murdered a woman in the middle of the road the moment she entered. Something struck a tone in her mind- That wasn't right at all. The Guards just stood there and watched while it happened. She had to personally step in to stop (Kill) the man before he could hurt anyone else- which he no doubt would have, considering that while the guards did nothing, the merchants in the plaza had drawn their weapons in an attempt to bring the man to justice.

When he was dead- the Guards simply came over to say that they would 'take care of it.'

_'I don't like the tone they were using there,'_ Mierfa frowned as she came over to examine the woman who had been killed. Someone called Margret, according to the muttered whispers of those around her. She searched the woman's body before the guards could get to it. Something did not sit right about all of this.

Mierfa didn't know what could be of use, if anything, so she stripped the woman of her clothes and vowed to search everything fully once she had a chance. "Sorry," she apologized to the dead woman, now left in nothing but her underwear, "but I don't think the guards would let you get off easy with this…"

As she stood up and turned to leave, a man came running up, "Oh dear god…what happened?"

Eltrys, as the man was called, proceeded then to subtly ask Mierfa about the events she'd witnessed, ending by handing her a note he claimed that she'd dropped.

It was a simple message: "Meet me in the Shrine of Talos."

–

Ayano approached the gates to Whiterun with a sigh.

Just beyond the Barrow- Jungle turned into desert, leaving the boy wandering across hot sands under a hot sun in armor that really wasn't meant for this weather. He'd been told by Gurder of Riverwood to speak to the Jarl about the Dragon that had attacked Helgen, and so he'd come this way after returning the Golden Claw.

It was one of many strange artifacts he'd picked up from the ruins- one of which was a massive stone that looked to be of some importance. He figured that he could probably find someone to sell it to inside Whiterun who'd find a use for it. Maybe he'd even get some coin for it?

But alas- it seemed his journey was about to come to an end-

"Halt!" A Guard called out, "Nobody's allowed in with the Dragons about- Official business only!"

"I have news from Helgen," Ayano said simply, "also, someone from Riverwood sent me to-"

"Say no more," The Guard held a hand up then motioned for the gates to be opened, "You'd better get inside."

–

"The Forsworn have been committing murders in town for months now," Eltrys said with a sour look, "My father was killed in an attack, and I'd been investigating ever since…" he paused, "But with my wife being pregnant, I was ready to give it all up."

"But this latest attack changed everything?" Mierfa asked.

"Yes, I can't let it go now," Eltrys shook his head, "You saw how the guards acted. There's some sort of conspiracy going on here. The guards are just letting the Forsworn walk all over this town. You're a new face here, You can figure out what's going on-"

"And nobody will miss me if I disappear, right?" She raised an eyebrow.

"AH…yes, that too…" he looked sheepishly towards the ground. "Look, I'd do it myself, but the guards already saw you looting Margret's body and with a kid of my own coming soon…"

"I'll do it," she cut him off. "It wasn't like I wasn't going to investigate this as it was," she smiled slightly, "something smelled off the moment I got here."

"I'll be glad to pay you for your efforts, if you want."

"I don't want to impose…But…. How much are we talking, here?"

–

"I need you to go into Bleak Falls Barrow and retrieve something for me-" The Court Wizard of the Jarl explained his assignment to Ayano- "It's called the Dragonstone."

"You mean this old stone?" The Breton pulled the map-sized stone out of his satchel, laying it out on the table.

"The Dragonstone of Bleak Falls Barrow!" Farengar exclaimed in surprise, "How did you get your hands on it?"

"I went in to get this ornament from a thief- turns out it ended up being the key to the burial chamber," Ayano shrugged.

"Well, I must say, you're a cut above the rest of the usual brutes the Jarl sends my way," The Mage was about to say more when the Jarl's housecarl came running up.

"Farengar, a Dragon's been sighted by the Western Watchtower!" Irileth explained, "You'd better come with me, right away." She turned to Ayano, "You too, you survived Helgen. You might be able to help out with this!"

"Uh….Sure thing?"

She led them up the stairs to the upper floor, where Jarl Balgruuf the Greater stood by, listening to a guard's report.

"I've never seen anything fly so fast before-" the guard explained.

"Was it attacking the Watchtower?" The Jarl asked.

"No, it was just circling when I left-" The Guard shook his head- "But I doubt it hasn't done anything since then!"

The Jarl turned to the trio who had just entered the room and smiled grimly. "I think it's about time we taught these dragons a lesson, don't you agree?"


	3. Synchronize

**CHAPTER 3: SYNCHRONIZE**

* * *

You are now PINA AYANO, and you are FIGHTING A DRAGON outside Whiterun.

–

You are now MIERFA DURGAS, and you are SEARCHING THE HALL OF THE DEAD for a Cannibal.

–

He wasn't sure how it came down to this- with the entirety of the Jarl's court guards marching out to the Western Watch tower being led by the Jarl Balgruuf himself!

–

It was simple- while investigating the dead woman, Margret's, room, Mierfa had heard from the INN owner that the Hall of the Dead was closed for some reason.

–

The Jarl proved himself to be a greater man than Ulfric Stormcloak- willingly going out to FIGHT a dragon instead of escaping to safety along with everyone else.

And Balgruuf didn't even have "The Power of the Voice."

–

Of course it would turn out that Margret was an Imperial spy investigating the same thing that Mierfa now was. A Forsworn conspiracy tied up to the Silver mine/prison in town.

She hoped that the same first letters in their names didn't mean anything.

–

The Dragon- who boisterously called himself Mirmulnir in the Dragon tongue- had not been expecting such a large force of soldiers to come confront him. He relished in the chance to eat them all, not that he would get the chance.

For, it was at the turning point of the battle that a shockwave echoed through the skies as something small, bright, and round fell from the sky- a trajectory that luckily collided with Mirmulnir's right wing.

The Mighty Dragon fell to the earth.

–

In following the rumor from the Inn-keeper about the Hall of the Dead- just in case the Forsworn were up to something there- Mierfa found out that there was something a lot sicker than that going on. Someone had been eating the dead.

The Man who ran the hall was concerned, and would only open it once he knew it was safe to do such. And so she went in- not at all expecting the things she discovered inside those doors.

An insane woman temptress.

–

The Object- which was undamaged save for some soot and smoke- babbled on about something called "Space" while the guards bared down on Mirmulnir. Ayano decided to do the most insane thing ever–

He jumped onto the dragon's back while it was on the ground, and dove his twin swords into the dragon's eyes.

"_Dovahkiin_!? **NOOOO!"**

Balgruuf's Ax slashed the dragon's neck open in the next moment while it was distracted.

The World exploded into fire.

–

The strange woman's voice echoed through the hall of the dead as if recorded, even as the woman herself confronted Mierfa. What an idiot, Mierfa thought, trying to convince her that she was a cannibal–

After talking the woman into revealing her hideout, Mierfa shot her with several arrows.

"How could I have guessed wrong!?"

The insane woman had no chance to properly summon a flame atronarch, or turn herself invisible.

Her life ended with an exploding construct.

–

Ayano landed on his back with a groan as the dragon's body dissolved out from under him- he barely noticed the strange flow of power that rushed into him from the Dragon as its body burned up into a skeleton.

Everyone else stared on in shock and awe as the Last Dragonborn was revealed to all.

–

The Hall of the Dead was to be reopened, but, as the old saying goes, there was no rest for the wicked. Mierfa grumbled as she held her head to hold back an oncoming wave of de ja vu.

She'd been talked into killing a Jungle spider inside a Dwemmer Ruin under Markarth.

* * *

"…" Mierfa stared at the spider before her. It was presently unaware of her presence, and she intended to keep it that way. The Jungle Spider was chewing on some miners, it appeared, and she shuddered as she remembered her near-death by a similar spider.

"Nope," she whispered to herself, "my luck has definitely Not improved."

Silently, she pulled out her bow, a few arrows, and a bottle of poison. She tipped the edge of the arrows in poison, and then lined up the first shot.

"Show me those eyes, you big, ugly bug," Mierfa muttered as she tensed the string back just a bit more. "C'mon…c'mon…"

Finally, the spider finished with its current meal and turned towards the corpse of an imperial body guard.

_**SHICK!**_

The Spider reared back as the poison tipped arrow slammed into one of the many nerves that connected each of its many, many eyes together. Suddenly- it's vision in those connected eyes turned upside down and inverted in colors. In contrast with its still functioning eyes, this sudden change of vision was insane.

It couldn't adapt- it was now blind.

Mierfa watched as it shambled around in dismay, desperately trying to find her.

She wasn't going to give it the chance.

_SHICK!_

The second shot went straight and true- it hit another of those critical optic nerves, and the Spider's vision continued to worsen.

This time, it had a vague direction of where the arrow had come from, using this and the previous shot to triangulate Mierfa's position.

She lined up a third shot- this time on one of the legs.

It was getting closer- but that wouldn't help it any.

_SHICK!_

The Third arrow's poison reacted to the fluids in the spider's knee- and it collapsed as it lost it's balance.

The Spider would soon be dead, Mierfa nodded to herself as she switched to the two-handed ax.

One swift strike would end it all.

–

"You are….Dragonborn!" a guard said aloud in awe.

Everyone was too caught up in the sight of the burning dragon to notice how the comment had made Ayano's body tense up.

"Just like the legends of old," the guard continued, "The Dragonborn can absorb the powers of a Dragon! And that's what you did, didn't you?"

"I…" Ayano had no clue what to say to that, "I don't know…!"

"There's one way to find out," The Jarl said as he helped the boy to his feet, "Dragonborn have the ability to shout, just like the Dragons do. If you can shout, then you must be one!"

"Yeah!" Another guard nodded, "Do a shout! If you can't, then…!"

The boy frowned, trying to think of something he could say to prove them otherwise…

But then he remembered something he'd seen in Bleak Falls Barrow.

One word.

_"Fus."_

It came out of his mouth as a whisper, but affected the world as if it had been roared.

A Shockwave that slammed forward into the dragon's skeleton, and caused the bones to rattle and shake as if struck by a person-sized hammer.

"That was shouting that you just did!" a Guard almost squealed, "You are! You really are Dragonborn!"

"What do you make of this, Irileth?" The Jarl asked of his Housecarl.

"I don't know about anyone being a Dragonborn," Irileth began, "All I know is that I see a dead dragon- and he helped us put it down. Anyone that can do that is enough in my book."

"I see," The Jarl smiled at her, though he seemed sad to a degree.

"Regardless, that was the hairiest fight I've ever been in," Irileth continued on as she looked at Ayano, "I'm glad that you're on our side, boy."

"I'm…just glad to be of help," He smiled faintly.

–

Of course- her curiosity was about to kill her yet again.

Mierfa had, instead of leaving immediately to report that the Spider was dead, instead began venturing into the ruins after finding a note about a lost expedition on the Imperial Guard's body.

She couldn't help it, she had to find them if they were still alive.

In any case- it was a chance to hone her archery skills.

The first man she found purely on accident. But he was dead- of course. His journal noted the locations of the other three expedition members, where they were at. He'd been leaving to fetch supplies, apparently.

No such luck against Falmer.

In the end, with many Falmer dead, and four dead mages journals recovered, she stumbled upon the thing that had done them all in-

The Dwemmer's Defense mechanism- its trigger a leaver that had been failed to be reached on time. The ruins were infested with Falmer, but there were still many more to come.

Should she activate the defense mechanisms, and potentially put the outside Expedition in danger? But then again, if the Falmer decided to exit the ruins and flood into the city…?

Mierfa pulled the lever, and watched as Giant, Dwarven constructs awoke from their slumber.

And so she turned to leave.

* * *

**_"DO-VAH-KIIN!"_**

The world shook with thunder- no, a shout! A Call! A Summons! Everywhere- this call was heard.

Mierfa wondered just what in Skyrim that was just now as she entered the local Treasury house. It was…strange, that. Something in the world had just happened, and she had no clue what it was. At the very least- it wouldn't affect her business in Markarth any time soon.

As she entered, though, a guard muttered, "The Greybeards summon the Dragonborn to High Hrothgar. And who among us could hold that honor?"

Mierfa shrugged at the guard, "not me, that's for sure." With that, she approached the main desk and smiled at the receptionist, "Hi."

"Hello, how can I help you today?" The woman, Rhiada, smiled at Mierfa- and it was a comforting smile. That of someone who looked down upon those in the child-age range and saw a potential she herself would soon be raising. This must be Eltrys' wife, Mierfa deduced.

"I'm here to see Thonar Silver-blood," Mierfa said as simply as possible, "He's expecting me."

"I…" Rhiada frowned a little, "I don't think he is? He said he wanted to be left alone today."

Out of the corner of her eyes, Mierfa noticed the two servants working on the floor seemingly tense up at this conversation. She'd have to play her cards carefully…. Quickly now, think of a clever lie!

"I came to help investigate the Dwemmer Artifact he was sent the other day?" Mierfa lied.

"Oh- that thing?" Rhiada seemed to recognize whatever Mierfa had just came up with. A Lucky break, for once. "I guess Jarl Balgruuf figured something out about his piece then?"

"Who knows," Mierfa shrugged, "I'm just here to look at the thing."

"Well," Rhiada seemed to contemplate this, "I'll need to talk to Thonar about this, stay here please…"

And with that, the pregnant woman sauntered off to the side room, leaving Mierfa alone with the two servants and a woman working on something by a desk- a woman who was now looking at Mierfa oddly.

"Hi," Mierfa smiled and gave a small wave.

"You're here to help my husband investigate that strange piece of technology?" The woman, evidently Thonar's wife, asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I am," Apparently, "there are a lot of those things popping up everywhere now." She had no clue what she was talking about.

"Interesting…" The woman smiled as she turned back to her work, "My name's Betrid Silver-Blood."

"Like the Inn?" Mierfa asked.

"No, we don't own that. The owner insisted though. My husband and I own Cidna Mine, all of the wealth that comes out of it flows through this treasury house and pays everyone," Betrid explained. "Thonar's the real head of the family, though. He may not be the eldest, but all the work that keeps us respected is handled by my Thonar."

"He sounds like a nice guy," Mierfa mused. Shame it was possible he was tied up in all of this Forsworn nonsense. "It must be tough though, having to work with everyone's finances as well as owning a whole mine?"

"Nepos helps out too," Betrid continued, "his work keeps a lot of the finer details in check."

There was the sound of metal sliding out of a sheath- followed immediately by the sound of a magic spell beginning to power up.

"Get Down!" Mierfa's reaction time spared many a death on this day- she leaped forward- pushing Betrid to the ground as the elderly woman- one of the two servants- fired an ice shard at the SIlver-Blood's head.

Ice shattered against the wall, and as the would be assassin tried to aim another ice shard spell- Mierfa brought out her bow and fired an arrow at about as point blank as could be held in this room. It broke through the woman's forming ice shard and made it explode prematurely- forcing her back just as the older man servant came forward with a dagger.

Mierfa didn't have time to grab another arrow- so she kicked out at the man's gut.

She missed, and hit him a few degrees to the south.

As the man stumbled backwards in shock and surprise- dropping the dagger as his hands went towards the injured region- the older woman came running up for round two, preparing a sparks spell. Mierfa jumped to her feet and threw a punch forward with her bow- hitting the woman in the jaw with the wooden bow- and sending cracks up along its surface.

The woman stumbled backwards with a growl, and just as she did such- two heavily armored men in Nordic armor came rushing in with war-axes drawn.

The elderly man turned on them, though clearly not focusing well due to the pain- summoning fire spells to blast at them.

It was then that Thonar and Rhiada came running in from the other room- each of them wide eyed in shock.

This was a major mess.


	4. Unite

**CHAPTER 4: UNITE**

* * *

It was done.

They were dead.

The Two "assistants" were in fact Forsworn agents! And they would not give up easy. If it hadn't been for the quick appearance of those two men with axes, Mierfa realized glumly, things might have turned to the worst on this day.

"And to think she had been so kind before," Thonar's wife, Betrid said flatly as she looked over the Witchblade's body. "'Just ask ol' Nana,' she'd say."

"I…Thank you for saving my wife," Thonar bowed his head to Mierfa a bit, "I don't know why they would have attacked so suddenly like that."

"They reacted to some name," Mierfa said, "Nepos or Nepo or something."

"You mean Nepos the Nose?" Thonar frowned, "Why would they? He just handles the workers if they step out of line."

"I hate to ask," Mierfa frowned, "but…. Does Nepos have any ties to the Forsworn?"

"I don't think he-" Betrid was about to say something when her husband cursed and stomped his foot to the floor.

"Damn him- Yes, he's a Forsworn. I thought he was under my control, but now…" Thonar frowned, "if he wants to play it like this…!"

"Where can I find Nepos?" Mierfa asked.

–

"I name you Thane of my hold," Jarl Balgruuf said to Ayano as he handed him an Ax outside the gates to Whiterun, "Take this weapon as your badge of office, and be off with you to High Hrothgar! It's not every day that you get summoned by the Greybeards, after all."

"I'll do by best, Sir," the Breton boy nodded, "and thank you sir. But I think I'll want to rest up before I get going to High Hrothgar."

"I'm sure the Greybeards will understand," The Jarl nodded.

* * *

Ayano stumbled into the Bannered Mare Inn, ready to take a nice long nap before heading out towards Ivarstead, at the base of the Throat of the World.

That would have to wait for a little bit longer.

"Ah, you're a hard man to find, mister Ayano," A Man in fancy clothes smiled at him, "I have a job for you- regarding Dragons."

"Oh?"

–

"I have business with Nepos."

"I don't think you do," the maid at the door countered. "He's resting right now and–"

"Wake him up then." Mierfa crossed her arms and said, "It has to do with that little assassination attempt in the Treasury house?"

"I–!"

"Let her in," A distant voice inside ordered.

"Fine." The Maid scowled, but relented and let the girl in.

Well, more like stood there impassively as Mierfa forced her way into the house.

Contrary to what the maid had said, Nepos was wide awake, and standing by the fire. "So, you're quite the little bloodhound, aren't you?" he began, "You've managed to sniff me out!"

"Not so much a detective as someone who was in the right place at the right time." Mierfa crossed her arms, "You tried to have someone killed- have HAD people killed. I'm not going to stand by and let that go unpunished."

Nepos sighed with some form of remorse as continued, "I've been playing this game for almost twenty years. Sending the young to their deaths. All in the name of the Forsworn. And I'm tired. So tired."

"Then why keep doing it?"

"My King, Madanach, is in captivity down in Cidna Mine." Nepos shrugged, "For so long as I do his bidding, he is left in peace."

"That's a dumb reason," Mierfa scowled.

"And what do you hope to do about it?" Nepos smirked, "You were seen coming in. The girl at the door is a Forsworn agent masquerading as a maid."

"I figured as much."

"You aren't the first one to have gotten this far. You won't be the last," Nepos concluded, "I'm sorry, you're not leaving here alive."

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't-" Mierfa concluded in response, "But Neither are you." She grabbed the necklace right off of Nepos' neck- the chain snapped almost instantly as she raced away from the man and his Forsworn agents before anyone could realize what was going on.

"A-AFTER HER!" Someone ordered as Mierfa dove through the front door, and ducked to the side.

_'Just like Skeevers,'_ she thought with a grim smile.

As Nepos and his Forsworn goons ran out of the house, Mierfa stuck her foot out.

_TRIP!_

Nepos tripped over the bow and stumbled over the railing- and two of three Forsworn that were following him stopped in their tracks as he plummeted down the full height of the stairwell and then some. The third Forsworn stumbled and hit his head on the railing just the same.

**THUD.**

"Ouch," Mierfa grimaced at the sound, "someone should've warned him about living so high up." Then, as the other three Forsworn turned to face her, she simply dropped the necklace onto the ground, and then turned to run. "Later!"

The Three Forsworn agents chased after her, but alas, their luck would not hold out.

She jumped off of the stairway- aiming straight for the top of a tree below. She landed on it, and as the large palm tree began bending down towards the ground from the sudden addition of weight, she jumped again- this time landing firmly in the middle of a pool.

_**SPLOOSH.**_

–

Ayano looked to the sky as he climbed onto the carriage that would take him from the Desert plains of Whiterun to the Tropical Region of Markarth.

The Greybeards could wait, he had to find this mercenary- one of many- before he could hunt down this dragon that was terrorizing the citizens that thrived on the trading lanes of the East Empire Company.

He'd put an end to its trickery as Thane of Whiterun.

…Not that he even knew what power that title even offered him. Balgruuf hadn't had a chance to explain at all.

Oh well. It wasn't like he was going to earn that title repeatedly or anything.

–

"Halt in the name of the Jarl!" A Guard pointed his sword down at Mierfa as she grinned up at him from the pool she'd jumped into. "You are wanted for crimes against Skyrim and her people! How do you plead?"

"Take me away, officer!" Mierfa held her hands up and grinned even wider, "I submit! Take me away to jail!"

"Smart woman…" The Guard began, then stopped as he took in that insane grin she was giving him. "I think…?"

* * *

Cidna Mine- it was a Prison that mined Silver.

Mierfa realized the Irony of Thonar's name- the Silver-blood clan. The Mines got their silver from the sweat and blood of prisoners. She'd gotten the full story from Thonar already, well before she went to confront Nepos. Madanach, also known as the King in Rags, had been the leader of the Forsworn years in the past- but he had been captured when Ulfric Stormcloak came through and freed Markarth from the Forsworn occupation.

Madanach was to be executed after his sentence- but instead Thonar had him spared, and locked him in the mines to 'direct the rage of the Forsworn' at Thonar's enemies.

Margret had, unfortunately, not been one of Thonar's- but instead was an 'enemy' of Nepos. As an Imperial Spy- if she had discovered that Madanach was still alive- the Imperials would have increased their occupation of the city, and potentially came down harder on them than they already were.

The Thalmor had a presence in the city- and Nepos wasn't about to let them get a stronger foothold. Mierfa could sympathize, she hated those stuck up pricks just about as much as anyone could, but to murder someone…? Surely there had to have been another way.

Well- now she was finding one.

Her plan was simple- Madanach was thought dead by almost everyone in Markarth. Nepos was dead- leaving only Madanach in the upper Forsworn hierarchy. If she took him out- the Forsworn wouldn't be assassins as they had been twisted into- and potentially all the corruption in the Hold, that stemmed from Nepos tricking Thonar into thinking the Forsworn were under control, would be cleared up.

That was the plan, anyways. Who knew if things would work out that way.

Finding Madanach had been easy enough. Mierfa had asked around, found the Forsworn sympathizers (of which practically everyone was), bribed Madanach's guard to let her visit him with a Skooma tribute, and then locked the door behind her.

He sat in a chair before her now. Now she had the perfect chance. Well…Her only weapon at the moment was a pic-ax… Not very subtle as far as things went.

"Well, well. Look at you. The Nords have turned you into an animal. A wild beast caged up and left to go mad. So, my fellow beast, what do you want? Answers about the Forsworn? Revenge for trying to have you killed?" He asked of her. His name certainly was appropriate. Madanach. Mad- a- nach.

"Mad" certainly fit his appearance. She had to restrain a laugh at her own private little joke.

"Well…" she began, "You have a lot to answer for, but first…" she decided that subtlety could jump out a window. "Let's start with Revenge!" She slammed the flat end of the Pic-ax against the back of his head- and with a "CLANK!" he fell out of the chair, and hit the ground- Dead if he was lucky, unconscious, if he wasn't.

She looted him for anything of importance- a Key, a note, and a shiv- then made sure he was dead by doing something creative to him with the pen quill he'd been writing with. The Note explained that the key was to a nearby cell, which held a tunnel leading down into the Dwemmer Ruins.

She escaped Cidna mine through those ruins- running through them avoiding as many spiders and dwemmer defense mechanisms as she could- and then met Thonar outside the exit of the ruins, exactly as they'd arranged before she confronted Nepos. "I suppose I should thank you for taking care of this…Though now I'll have to find new miners. They'll all be rather cross once they realize Madanach is dead."

"And the deal we had…?"

"You're free to go- all crimes pardoned. Nice handling of Nepos, by the way. I thought that was clever." Thronar seemed to smirk a bit, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a trained assassin of the Dark Brotherhood."

"Haha- something like that," she glanced to the side, thinking to herself in a whisper, as if he could hear her thoughts, _'he'd think I was insane if I told him the truth.'_

–

Ayano climbed out of the cart and stretched his limbs as he yawned. It had been a long ride up to Markarth- but it would be worth it, if his new employer could be believed about needing these Mercenaries.

As he went to pay the driver, something caught his eye.

Something blue among the jungle's green.

"No way," he breathed.

It was the girl he'd escaped Helgen with! She was still wearing those Mage's robes- only they seemed to have been tailored a bit more- quite a bit of the old robes were missing now- but they looked more to size now and… Wow, was it hot in here all of a sudden or was it just the jungle? Of course, he realized suddenly, it was impolite to stare…!

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," The Drow huffed as she crossed her arms under– Not thinking about it. "What in Oblivion are you doing here?!"

–

"I'm recruiting mercenaries to hunt down a dragon," the Breton finally got down to the essence of why he was here, having told everything that had happened to him after he'd left Helgen as he had navigated them along the roads up towards the mine that the first mercenary was to be at. Fighting Forsworn occupiers, apparently. "It's been terrorizing people and trade lines and making a big nuisance of itself."

"And you think it's the same one that attacked Helgen?" Mierfa raised an eyebrow.

"Description fits- big, dark, and scary," the boy shrugged, talking a bit slowly, "but honestly, I'm just going along with it because I really don't want to go up to High Hrothgar. Kind of funny, isn't it? I'm called to the top of a mountain so I can better fight dragons, and here I am recruiting a bunch of people so I can go fight dragons."

She frowned. What was with this guy? He really was Dragonborn? He sure didn't seem to want to fight dragons by how reluctantly he was talking now. That didn't make any sense!

Wait.

No…Of course it did.

"Yeah…Funny." She narrowed her eyes at him, then huffed and turned her attention back to the road, "Fine, I'll come with you to help find this mercenary, and kill this dragon- since obviously you're going to need an archer of my skill set."

"Awesome!"

"But on one condition!" she held up a finger.

"Yes?"

There was something off about this kid- it wasn't just because he was "Dragonborn." No. Something had been off the moment they'd met.

"Once we're done- we're done. We split up an we never -_EVER_- speak of **any** of this. **_EVER._** _Again._ Understand?"

"Understood!"

Neither of them asked the other their name- nor introduced themselves.

And that was perfectly fine with one of both of them.


	5. BOOOOOOOORED!

**CHAPTER 5: ****_BOOOOOOOORED!_**

* * *

You are now PINA AYANO- and you are NOT QUITE SURE what to make of your new traveling companion.

* * *

She was a strange one- even as they made their way through a Forsworn infested mine, the Drow Girl refused to even speak to him unless it was a warning or instruction during battle. "Behind you!" or "To the left!" kind of instructions. She managed to hold her own rather well with just a bow- The Forsworn were appropriately dressed for this kind of dense jungle, but that light fur armor that barely covered ones body just left ripe targets out in the open for a sharpshooter.

Not for the first time- Ayano wondered where she learned such archery skills. She couldn't be any older than he was- maybe a year older or younger at the least- but her skills showed practice and training well beyond her years.

Time seemed to move slower for her- she moved and reacted faster to things than he did. Much faster in fact- to the point that it he wasn't watching her carefully, he would swear that she was teleporting the arrows with magic rather than using a bow to shoot them.

And then there was the bow itself. Last he'd seen her, she'd had a simplistic hunting bow. Now? The Bow she was using seemed to be either Dwemmer or Daedric in origin and design. Where had she gotten that from? Were there Daedric shop owners in Markarth? Or maybe she'd picked it up from a ruin on the way from Helgen?

He had no clue- and probably never would.

Soon enough, they'd reached the top of a stair well where the first Mercenary stood over some Forsworn bodies, blood dripping from his twin weapons. He seemed tired, just a bit. Probably with good reason.

"Athir?" Ayano began.

"Yeah?" The man raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"Lurius Liore has a job for you- he'll fill you in on the details down at the Bannered Mare in Whiterun," Ayano paused for a moment, then added, "Oh, and could you give him a message for me too? I've got a friend who wants to help out. I'll be bringing her with me when I get back to Whiterun."

"Sure thing," Athir nodded as he sheathed his weapons. "Any job Lurius has pulled together is one I'll want in on."

–

You are now MIERFA DURGAS, and you have not a clue what to make of this.

* * *

The boy insisted that they head to Whiterun next- but Mierfa had other plans, other obligations.

When she'd been 'pardoned' for murder, several people had immediately come to her with requests- apparently she'd made big enough positive waves with the simple act of killing the Forsworn King, of all the irony. One of those requests was from the Temple of Dibella- they required her to find a new Sybil, a girl in the nearby town of Karthwasten.

The Breton had no clue why Mierfa was going along with this request- thinking it stupid to take a young girl from her family like this- but she reminded him that the Sybil position was a great honor among the local families. To have any family member in it, she told him, was something that many people would be jealous of.

Another of those requests? To find a Priest of Boethiah who had been captured by Forsworn and bring him to an abandoned house in Markarth. She had no clue why a Vigilant of Stendarr would ask her do do such a thing, but he had, and so she had another opportunity for payed work. But- since the Priest thing gave her the creeps, and not in a good way either- she decided that she would focus on the kid thing first, and would put off rescuing the supposedly entrapped Priest for as long as she possibly could.

Karthwasten was a small mining town lodged in the middle of the jungle not too far from the mine they'd just exited, so the Breton assumed they'd find the girl, get back to Markarth, and move on to Whiterun.

"Damn it, girl, are you trying to taunt us?" Enmon, the future Sybil's father, grumbled at them when Mierfa had asked him about his daughter's whereabouts, "Our daughter, Fjotra, was taken from here. The Forsworn descended and… they didn't touch anything else. Just our little girl."

He was proven wrong immediately.

"Where did they take her?" Mierfa asked- a Kidnapped Priest? She could put that off. A Kidnapped child? NO WAY. She was going to rescue that Kid A.S.A.P.!

"It was the Forsworn from Broken Tower. Never been much trouble before. What's it to you?" Enmon asked.

"She's the Sybil of Dibella," Mierfa said simply, "Plus, I can't stand it when a kid's been taken captive."

"She… really? That's… I wouldn't have dreamed. Of course, we need her in Markarth, then," Enmon nodded, but frowned, "But what can you two do? You're no older than she is…was…I…"

"Hey," The Breton interrupted, "she may not look like it, but this girl here's the fastest Archer I've ever met!"

"Plus," Mierfa continued, "I've already taken on the Forsworn in Markarth. What are a few kidnappers going to do when I tell them I killed the 'King in Rags', hm?" There was a bit of a smirk on her face, and she knew it too.

"You're the one who–?" Enmon stared at her in awe, "Of course! Of all the people to do this- there wouldn't be anyone better than you- The Blue Eyed Sniper!"

The Breton blinked, "Wait, what?"

* * *

–

You are now MIERFA DURGAS– Several years ago– and you are presently in SOLITUDE'S CAPITAL, THE BLUE PALACE.

* * *

Mierfa, at age six presently, stared up at the palace as her father lead her towards the front door. This- she thought immediately- was insane. Her father had to be mad to bring her somewhere like this.

"What're we doin' here, daddy?" She clutched at the elder man's pant leg. "It's big."

"An old friend of mine has been neglecting his duties," her father said, "I hope that I can convince him to return to work, or else things will get very, very bad."

* * *

Booooooooring!

Mierfa yawned as she watched her father converse with a man who was part of the Court. He seemed to be so lost in conversation that he'd forgotten he'd brought his own daughter along for the trip.

With the attention span of a child, Mierfa soon lost patience of standing around and waiting. It was in this moment that her fate was changed forever.

The young girl had gotten up, and wandered down into the main hall, where a few guards and a Mage were conversing about sealing up a wing. She had no clue what they were talking about. Why would they want to seal a bird's wing? That made no sense at all.

She wandered towards a nearby door, and stared up at it. At first it seemed locked, but then a breeze seemed to flow through the room, and there was a click.

Then, with a loud creak, the door before her slowly opened.

With the curiosity of a child, Mierfa wandered into the Pelagius Wing.

–

* * *

You are now PINA AYANO- in the present day- and you have no clue what just happened.

* * *

The job had been easy enough- grab the girl from the Forsworn and escort her back to Karthwasten to say goodbye to her parents before heading on to Markarth.

If only the Thalmor hadn't been waiting just outside the town.

"You there-" The Elf in the robes had held his hand up- "This town is closed to visitors due to an ongoing investigation."

"What kind of investigation?" The Drow Girl had asked in response.

"We've received reports of Talos Worship in this town and we were dispatched to investigate," The Elf sighed as if exasperated.

"Well, we'll let you get on with that," The Archer had a hand reaching back to her bow, "but I've got to get this girl back to her parents right now, so–"

"You won't be entering this town until we've concluded our investigation," One of the two armored guards interrupted. "Leave at once or we'll have you arrested for treason."

"You really don't want to do that-" Mierfa had said, readying her bow.

"And why not?" The Guard in question drew her mace.

"I know three words that will just _absolutely_ ruin your day. Let us through, and I won't have to say them," the girl seemed to frown, "I really don't like saying them."

"Then don't try it!" The other Guard drew a sword, and the Thalmor mage readied a spell.

Pina Ayano- recently discovered Dragonborn- recognized the words that the girl shouted at the Thalmor guards next. He recognized them, but did not understand them.

He couldn't understand how she- a regular mortal- knew such words.

_**"CHEESE FOR EVERYONE!"**_

The World shook, and the skies clouded…

"Oh look who it is!" came a new voice as a conjuration spell activated- "It's you!"

And then Cheese wheels fell from the sky like meteorites as Mierfa pulled an arrow out and let it fly.

* * *

–

The young Mierfa stared up at the oddly dressed man as he entertained her and another man to a feast.

"So my dear girl," Sheogorath grinned at her, "will that be two lumps of sugar, or three?"

–

* * *

"Fjotra!" Enmon called out with glee as he fell to his knees to give his daughter a hug.

"Father!" The Sybil of Dibella, Fjotra, cried out with glee as she hugged her father for what very well could be the last time.

Ayano shook his head as he watched them reunite- only to be soon torn apart.

"Fjotra, dear. Did they hurt you?"

"Of course not. My spirit remains strong."

It was saddening to a degree- he supposed, but also heartwarming. He wished he could have had that kind of relationship with his father, but, sadly, things never came out to work that way.

"My little girl. Always strong. Do you know where you have to go?" Enmon asked of his little girl.

"I'm to go to the temple in Markarth. I…" she teared up, "I'll have to leave you and mother."

He didn't want to do this. He really didn't.

"It's our honor to have you there. This man is going to take you to Markarth. Are you ready?"

"Of course." The girl nodded, and looked up at her mother with a warm smile as she went over to her mother to say her goodbyes with her. Meanwhile, Enmon stood up, and walked over to Ayano, a happy smile on his face.

"Thank you for getting her back from the Forsworn. Dibella was smart to have sent you."

"It wasn't me, really," Ayano looked over at the girl and her mother, a frown on his face. "It was the girl I was with. She was the one who did all the work, really…"

"Yes, I suppose I should thank her too…" Enmon looked around, "Where is she anyways?"

"Ah- finishing up with that Thalmor Problem you guys were having, I'd guess," Ayano frowned, distantly hearing the sounds of exploding cheese and flying arrows just outside the hidden village's jungle walls.

–

Mierfa Durgas- at age six- had stumbled upon the Prince of Madness' vacation spot, and- not understanding the implications of this- asked the man if she could join the tea-party he was holding.

That was how she had met "Uncle" Sheogorath.

That was when she let loose, freely talking about the knife throwing training she'd been put through, and for once having a chance to just talk with someone who took her seriously about it all.

It was through that conversation that her dear "uncle" had pushed her towards archery over knife throwing, insisting that "Snipers are so much more chaotic! You never know when one will strike at you out of the shadows, after all!" and "It's better to be the snipe-_er_ than the snipe-_ey_!"

Over the years, Mierfa had grown to love the man as the 'fun' uncle he claimed to be, as well as taking to him as a sort of teacher. To her- it took all of those years of dream training to become as good as she had. To others- it seemed as if her skills suddenly came out of nowhere and improved just as strangely, and thus her nickname of "The Blue Eyed Sniper" with that "Divine Reaction Time" came to form.

They couldn't have been more far off from the truth than if they had been hit with a Wabbajack blast.

She knew now, of course, that he might not have the most honest intentions at heart, but her "Uncle" definitely had been more of a father figure than her own flesh and blood had. With Sheogorath, her days spent training felt more like playing around and goofing off than actual work.

It was madness- she supposed that was ironic again- but it had a method to it.

"So who's your friend?" The 'conjured' version of Sheogorath grinned at her as he threw a cheese wheel at one of the Thalmor guards that had come out of the forest.

He was also somewhat of a "Shipper-On-Deck," as he himself called himself.

"Don't know his name- and he's not my friend!" Mierfa huffed as she shot an arrow int the cheese wheel- making it explode in red light and transforming the poor Thalmor Guard into a Rabbit.

"Well you sure seemed friendly to me! Already have a kid, don't you?" He threw a cart at one of the elves- even as exploding cheese wheels fell from the sky.

"That's not–" she fumed as she cheeks turned purple from the sudden influx of blood, "That's the next Sybil of Dibella that the priestesses sent me to find!"

"Oh-hoo!" There was some well-intentioned eyebrow wriggling from her "Uncle" as he summoned a Dwemmer Centurion to finish off the remaining Thalmor goons, "Dibella huh? Did they invite you to their temple?"

"W-What does that even matter?!" Mierfa spun on her heels to glare at the Conjured Sheogorath. "He's only following me around because I agreed to help him hunt some dragon!"

The Thalmor mage thought it wise to interrupt this conversation- He got a face full of fire for his troubles.

But not from the Dwemmer guardian.

A Dragon roared as it swooped over the limited opening in the forest canopy to breath fire down upon the one who had woken it from its nap with exploding Cheese wheels.

"You mean that dragon?" Sheogorath pointed up at the angry dragon with a grin on his face and a sparkle in his eyes.

"…I sure hope not."


	6. Volsung Vs Thanes

**CHAPTER 6: Volsung Vs. Thanes**

* * *

As everything went up in flames, all she could think was: "There's no way this guy's the savior of the world." But he was, and she knew it. Well- if fate was going to keep forcing them to work together, there wasn't anything she could do to stop it.

The Dragon had been attacked as suddenly as it had arrived.

The Breton- Pina Ayano- had shouted at it a shock-wave, much as she had shouted to the World to Conjure the visage of her uncle. And he had shouted repeatedly, forcing the dragon into the air and then down into the forest where its movements were limited.

And then he'd practically gone berserk on it.

The Dragon would snap its jaws at him, and then- WULD!- he was behind the Dragon, leaving it very confused and struggling to follow. Then- FUS!- another Shock-wave would send the Dragon reeling.

Then there was the sword play.

This boy had gone from a fumbling kid who couldn't swing an ax to a leather clad, blade swinging, dragon slaying _**BEAST**_!

Any time the Dragon even thought of attacking anyone other than his attacker, the boy would zip into its line of sight, and then throw a burst of sparks in its face.

And before long- the Dragon was dead, skin and muscle burning away and turning into energy that flowed into the Breton with many, many streams of light. Everyone who saw it was amazed by the pattern- it almost looked like he had Dragon wings and a Tail during this moment.

It made sense, after all.

He was Dovahkiin- Dragonborn.

* * *

And with that moment behind them- the Thalmor were dead.

And Mierfa Durgas was stripping the mage of his clothing- literally using a dagger to cut away the parts she didn't want, leaving the corpse clad in strips of magically enchanted cloth.

And then she was simply clad in a skirt, citing that her mages robes had been damaged to the point of needing repair as the reason. But he just couldn't believe it- this girl, no older than he was, was wearing nothing but a skirt cut out of Thalmor Robes.

Like some kind of trophy.

Just who was this girl?

* * *

As they escorted the Sybil to Markarth, they talked.

"My name is Mierfa Durgas," she had finally introduced herself to the boy, "and my Uncle is the Daedric prince Sheogorath. Got a problem with that?"

"Nope."

"Cool."

"My name is Pina Ayano," he had finally given his name, "and I'm the Dragonborn of legend. My past is a bit more complicated than yours, though."

"Eh? How is it more complicated?"

"I'd rather not talk about it. Okay?"

As they walked- they randomly passed a raving Priest named Logruf, who seemed upset that nobody had come to rescue him, prompting his own escape attempt.

What was he raving about? Some abandoned house in Markarth.

Mierfa shrugged, then told him about that Vigilant that had hired her, but apparently her services were no longer needed.

And then he ran as fast as he could, crying out, "The Shrine!"

Nobody paid him any attention.

* * *

It was later that night when they arrived in Markarth- and after a tiring journey up the steps to return the Sybil to the temple, the two journeying friends decided to spend the night at the local inn.

"Separate. Rooms." Mierfa had insisted the moment after Ayano had suggested the idea.

"Geeze," he muttered, "you're sending a lot of mixed signals."

Rumors were flying about the inn as they entered- apparently there had been a fire in that abandoned house, and the Vigilant who had been inquiring about it had not been seen since. The Guards claimed he burned with the house.

Nobody mentioned that the Raving Priest had been spotted entering minutes earlier.

Other rumors flew about as well. Something about strange lights being seen and heard from a cave near Dragon's Bridge, a small town between Marakrth and Solitude. There were news reports about a new Museum in Dawnstar opening up, covering the fabled Mythic Dawn cult.

But the duo ignored most of these beyond idle remarks, and soon, night time fell upon the Hold, sleep claiming all those within for a brief time.

* * *

The next morning- Markarth awoke to the sound of the howling un-dead.

From the ruins of the burnt down house emerged what very few recognized as a Dragon Priest, it's mask red, and glowing ominously. Its body was burnt to a crisp under its armor, and floated through the streets throwing conjuring magic and destruction blasts every which way.

The citizens of Markarth cowered in their homes, none daring to look out lest the beast- Volsung- turned its attention to them.

The Guards foolish enough to attack at close range would not be beaten back by magic, but instead by a demonic looking Mace that glowed green with the energy of the blood it was bathed in. Even fewer recognized it as the Mace of Molag Bal.

But the worst part of all?

It would rip off its mask to feed off of those it killed- throwing up a magical barrier to keep anyone away. To those who knew the Dragon Priests- this was an odd combination, and one that shouldn't be possible. The Simple fact of the matter was- this wasn't the Dragon Priest Volsung in body.

Although no-one would ever uncover the truth behind this day- what happened on the night before was very simple:

The Vigilant had entered the house, days before, with a colleague, due to reports of some foolish Bandits moving an old Draugr coffin into the house. The Coffin had been removed from its temple of Volskygge, and it contained the remains of the Priest Volsung.

Those same Bandits had captured the Priest of Boethiah, and sold him to a Forsworn camp. They had been planning on resurrecting the Dragon Priest using the Altar of Molag Bal in the house's basement. Their resurrection ceremony had been interrupted by the Vigilants of Stendarr, and the one had been killed by the bandits, leaving the lone survivor to be possessed by the spirit of the Dragon Priest- who then went on a rampage, killing the remaining bandits without realizing that he was now trapped in the Vigilant's body.

The only escape had been the Priest of Boethiah who had been sold away- who fortunately or not, had escaped to continue his cleansing of the Altar. And so the Dragon Priest had tried to return to his body- instead, the Priest had tried to destroy him, resulting in the fire that night and leading us into the present.

Of all the people who dared come out to fight the partially resurrected Dragon Priest- none expected the Blue Eyed Archer nor the Dragonborn himself to appear to fight.

Vulsung underestimated them.

They worked as a team- with Mierfa sniping the Dragon Priest with arrows at long range while Ayano zipped through the streets, drawing Volsung deeper and deeper into Markarth, and further and further away from any innocents who would surely die.

They corralled Volsung out over the pond just in front of the Cidna mine, and it was there that his 'floating' powers gave out, being designed for land based travel and not for water walking. As the Dragon Priest floundered in the water- being unable to swim- it was there that he was finally slain by arrows and magic.

Markarth had survived another disaster.

* * *

"For your courageous fight against the Dragon Priest Volsung who had somehow found himself in our city-" the Jarl of Markarth declared to Ayano as he handed him a rather large sword- "I Name you Thane of my hold, with all the power it brings you!"

The city cheered- and Pina Ayano simply stared on in confusion. Thane? Again?

Mierfa just shook her head as she clapped slowly at the boy, unaware of his plight. She didn't need that title. She had enough titles as it was. Meanwhile, the one Thalmor representative present from the Jarl's court simple glared at her, having noticed her clothing choices right away, and not liking what it represented one bit.

* * *

As the two heroes left Markarth, a woman in robes ran up to them them- not-so-subtly dropping a key in front of them by stopping and pulling the key out of a pocket before dropping- and then continued on running away.

Mierfa raised an eyebrow, "Friend of yours?"

"Nope," Ayano shook his head, then went to pick up the key. There was an ID tag attached (Luckily? Intentionally?) to the Key itself, directing whomever had it to the Solitude Temple of the Divines. "I guess someone wants us to go to Solitude."

"Should we though?" Mierfa asked.

"Might as well- we're closer to it than Whiterun right now."

* * *

One long carriage ride through the jungle later- the two had reached Solitude's carriage station- at a farm not too far from the gates.

"By the way," Mierfa began as they walked up the road to the main gate, "that guy, Ulfirc, you were in the cart with back in Helgen?"

"Eh?" Ayano took a second to remember, "yeah? What about him?"

"He killed the High King here in Solitude. Right in his own home," she explained. "So try not to bring it up while we're here, people might get upset with you."

"And you're telling me this, why?" Ayano had to ask.

"Remember how you just became Thane of Markarth?" She asked, and then continued on, "I'm the Thane of Solitude."

"You're the what now?" He stopped in his tracks- "Wait- where in Oblivion did this happen?"

"Years ago," She shrugged, "Mostly my dad's influence, really. It's mostly an honorary title, so you can become Thane of as many holds that don't have the position filled."

"Markarth and Whiterun," Ayano muttered to himself.

"But still, if someone of your Hold asks you for a job, you're pretty much required to do it. The only reason I was hanging around down in Helgen was cause I was taking the long way back from taking the High King's old horn to a Shrine near Whiterun as an offering from his wife." Mierfa explained, "A bit of a string of unfortunate events, really."

As she said this, they passed through the main gates just as the headsman's ax fell on the poor unfortunate soul's neck.

"Woah!" Mierfa did a double take. "I was **_not_** expecting that!"

Ayano simply rubbed at the back of his own neck in sympathy. "Yeah…me either…"

"JUSTICE HAS PREVAILED!" An Imperial guard shouted to the air. "Justice for allowing the High King's murderer to escape has been Delivered!"

Some of the citizens in the crowd cheered- most stared on in silence- and only a few booed.

"Some justice…" Ayano muttered. "Beheading someone is just plain murder."

"Yeah," Mierfa nodded agreement, "it is."


	7. The Wolf Queen P1

**CHAPTER 7: The Wolf Queen (P1)**

* * *

"So that was the guy who opened the gates?" Ayano asked once Mierfa had returned from inquiring about who was just executed.

"Yup, exactly that guy." She sighed, "A real shame too, had a daughter. I suppose I'll have to keep an eye out for her."

"So, what now?" Ayano had to ask. "We check out that key, and then what?"

"Before we do any of that, I've got to report back to Jarl Elisif that I finished up that task she gave me, then I want to get a fresh change of clothes from my place- maybe we can rest up a bit after traveling all this way?" Mierfa listed a few things off, "Then we can go investigate the key, I guess."

"So…" Ayano continued, "Any other secrets you'd like to share? Are you Thane of any other holds? Got any other uncles or aunts?"

"Thane of Morthal- I helped clear out a vampire infestation a few months back." A shrug followed, "Nothing else that comes to mind, sorry!"

* * *

Ayano was amazed by Solitude's Blue Palace. All of Solitude was grown over with bright greens and large plants- but the entrance to the Palace itself was massively overgrown with Bamboo trees to the point it felt like they'd left a city and entered a tropical jungle once more.

As they entered the Blue Palace, the sounds of discussion came from the floor above them.

"I swear to you, unnatural magics are coming from that cave! There are strange noises and lights! We need someone to investigate!" Varnius Junius was proclaiming to the Jarl.

"Then we will immediately send out a legion to scour the cave and secure the town. Haafingar's people will always be safe under my rule!" Elisif replied as Mierfa and Ayano ascended the stairs to the main landing.

Varnius was taken back in awe, "Th…thank you, my Jarl thank you."

"Your eminence," Sybille, the Jarl's court wizard, said to the woman on the throne, "my scrying has suggested nothing in the area. Dragon Bridge is under imperial control. This is likely superstitious nonsense."

"Perhaps a more," Falk Firebeard, one of the Jarl's advisers, added on with a cautious tone, "tempered reaction… might be called for?"

"Oh. Yes, of course you are right," Elisif nodded, a frown over taking her as her eyes scanned the room. Then she smiled slightly upon seeing her Thane. "Falk, tell Captain Aldis I said to assign a few extra soldiers to Dragon Bridge."

"Thank you, Jarl Elisif. But about the cave…?" Varnius was persistent about what he viewed to be a danger to his people.

"I'll send my Thane to investigate it personally," Elisif declared. "She's just returned from a quest I'd assigned her, and so she'll be the best bet for investigating this mysterious cave of yours, Varnius. You can return to Dragon's Bridge with an easy mind."

Mierfa and Ayano shared a look as she said, "I have a feeling we're not going to get a chance to rest up first."

* * *

"So who's your friend, my Thane?" Elisif asked of the Drow girl with a cheerful smile.

"This is Ayano- he's the guy the Greybeards called up," Mierfa explained, "The Dragonborn."

"And yet you come here to Solitude?" Elisif asked with some curiosity.

Ayano, who up til this point had remained silent, simply shrugged, "I've had some pressing business to take care of elsewhere first. The Greybeards can wait until I finish it up."

"Many would not take such an attitude to being summoned, you've got courage to say such things in public!" Elisif remarked, then asked, "So what brings you to Solitude?"

"Business," Ayano repeated, not elaborating on the point any further. "Like I said."

"I see," The Jarl mused.

"So what's this about a cave?" Mierfa asked.

"Wolfskull cave- just to the west of Solitude- there have been many reports recently about suspicious activity there. I think it would be best for you to investigate it," the Jarl said, "if that's alright with you?"

"That's fine with me so long as I get a chance to rest up first. The trip from Whiterun was tiring, and I'd like to tidy up a bit before I head back that way," Mierfa agreed.

"Yes," Elisif giggled just a little, "I can imagine that is quite the story you have to tell, if it involves the Dragonborn. By the way, those are some rather…interesting robes you've got there. They seem a bit rough around the edges though…"

"I had to cut them off of a burnt up Thalmor mage to replace my own clothes," Mierfa said without shame, explaining without an interruption about how the Thalmor mage in question died, "he got caught up in a fight between Ayano and I and the dragon. Took the full force of a fire breath thinking he could just brush it off with a ward spell."

"So Dragons truly have returned to Skyrim?" Elisif asked, somewhat in awe. "I'd thought the rumors to be true, but to hear of a first hand account of someone surviving…"

"Well, they're back," Ayano said, interjecting into the conversation rather suddenly, "and I can kill them. So yeah. Not rumors. Not Legends." He looked the Jarl in the eyes and said rather firmly: "They are as real as you and I."

* * *

Wolfskull cave was a mess. Skeletons had guarded the outside, and many of the tunnels had been filled with Necromancers.

Mierfa sighed as she surveyed her surroundings. The massive cave at the end of all of that had a fortress built inside- no doubt an ancient Nordic tomb- a safe haven for Necromancers. She could see why people were concerned about this cave as well- the magic that these fools were using had gotten so powerful that an entire jungle had sprouted up inside of it. There wasn't even any direct sunlight for that to have been possible!

However- the Necromancer's folly would be to her success.

She could use all these trees to her advantage, and she did such. Through thickets of branches and bushes- she aimed her bow and let loose arrows as precisely as she could. Sometimes she got lucky- her targets walked into her line of sight right after she fired. Other times she missed and had to quickly aim a second arrow before they could spot her.

Finally- she reached the stairs leading to the top of the central tower, where the Necromancers were chanting…

"Wolf Queen. Hear our call and awaken. We summon Potema!" The Ring-leader chanted.

"We summon Potema!" His followers cried out.

"Long have you slept the dreamless sleep of death, Potema. No longer. Hear us Wolf Queen! We Summon You!" The Ritual Master continued.

"We summon Potema!" The Followers continued.

Mierfa quirked an eyebrow- they were trying to resurrect the Wolf Queen? She had to put a stop to this…but a voice inside her brain sounding suspiciously like her dear uncle begged her to wait just a moment.

**_"Yes! Yes! Return me to this realm!"_** A new voice- female and powerful- shouted. Potema, if Mierfa had to guess.

"As our voices summon you the blood of the innocent binds you Wolf Queen!" Mierfa could practically hear the grin on the Master Necromancer's face.

"Summoned with words. Bound by blood." The followers continued.

_**"What!"**_ Potema shouted in dismay, and Mierfa bit back a laugh, **_"What are you doing?! You fools! You cannot bind me to your wills!"_**

"Summoned with words! Bound by blood!" The Followers chanted.

**_"You ants don't have the power to bind me!"_** Potema didn't sound so sure of herself there- and Mierfa felt that that was long enough to wait.

"Hiya, everybody!" She leaped up the stairs, multiple arrows drawn in her bow. "Would you look who it is! It's **ME!**"

She let the arrows fly- most of them flying well off target- but due to the nature of the ritual- the few that hit their targets were enough to disrupt the ritual.

It was at that moment Mierfa realized that she was standing very much too close to the half-resurrected Potema.

**_KA-THWAM!_**

An explosion of magical energy shot out- throwing Mierfa into the short wall, and the Necromancers over it.

It couldn't be helped- Mierfa blacked out.

* * *

The Solitude Church was impressive on it's own- but the room that Ayano found himself in was even more impressive than all of it combined. Before him lay a sword stuck in a massive boulder. Butterflies flitted about, but none wanted to land on the sword, or the sheath lying on the ground nearby. Still- the room was beautiful…and the sword even more so.

He couldn't help it- he had to take it as his own.

Moments later- Ayano had found the world shifting around him, and the realm went from peaceful to volcanic in an instant.

The place around him was quite obviously either a plane of Oblivion or some other part of Tamriel that had long since been forgotten. There were monsters all around him- Massive insects, Flame Atronarchs, and a Dragon Priest- all of which guarded a massive stockpile of treasure and weapons- at the center of which was the sword he'd wanted to take in the first place.

Chrysamere.

Ayano took the sword without even checking for traps.

And then a Dragon descended from the heavens to challenge him for the sword.

"Bring it on," Ayano smirked as he gave the heavy two-handed sword a twirl- carving a brief, blue aura circle into the air before he let loose a roar and charged for the dragon.

* * *

You are now Mierfa Durgas and you have A MASSIVE HEADACHE.

–

The poor girl sauntered back through the streets of Solitude as she clutched at her head- Things had not gone well in clearing that cave. Mierfa had the vaguest feeling that Potema had probably escaped somehow, and she wasn't going to be happy about returning to the Jarl to tell her about this failure.

* * *

You are now Pina Ayano, and you are STILL FIGHTING A MIGHTY DRAGON.

–

"Take THAT!" **CLANG!** "And some of THIS!" _KLAM!_ "And a little of THIS and THAT!" **_THWUMP!_**

"KRAAAH!" The Dragon hissed in pain. How could this boy be so _GOOD_?

* * *

"Are you sure?" The Jarl was off elsewhere at the moment- leaving Mierfa to talk with Falk Firebeard. "You think Potema might have escaped?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Mierfa nodded, though grimaced through her headache.

"Alright, that's more than enough for me," Falk shook his head in disbelief, "Potema had catacombs underneath the Temple of the Divines. Her remains should be in there. If Potema is revived even partially, that will be where she will spawn herself!"

"So what do I do? Kill her again?" Mierfa frowned.

"Yes, if need be," Falk nodded, "Then take her remains to the Hall of the Dead. If we purify them, she should be permanently banished!"

"Alright, I'll head on over there then…"

* * *

Most of the temple-goers stared at him in confusion. A Breton boy that spontaneously was dumped onto the main floor with a massive pile of treasure and dragon bones around him- laughing madly as if he'd just had the best day of his life.

Mierfa walked in to this strange sight without even knowing about the teleportation part of the story. "Seriously," she said flatly, "this is what you found with the key?"

"Haha!" Ayano laughed some more, "Yeah! Exactly all of this! Hahaha!"

Mierfa sighed, "Alright, just leave it here for now, we've got some catacombs to find."

"Okay! Just let me pick up some of the important stuff here," Ayano glanced around, "Um, could someone get me a satchel or something first?"

* * *

In the end- the Dragonborn now had a massive sword strapped to his back, and a bag full of miscellaneous items stuffed inside- the most 'important' of which was a giant multi-sided spherical crystal object that appeared to glow with the faintest light of the sun.

"Chrysamere, huh?" Mierfa whistled, "Impressive, I don't think we could've gotten anything better for this job."

"So what _are_ we hunting here anyways?" Ayano glanced around the basement of the temple. "Catacombs?"

"Well…" Mierfa was about to say something more when a loud bang startled them both- A piece of a nearby wall had crumbled away- revealing a shambling Draugr behind it. "…I think we're looking for that, actually." She said simply.


End file.
